Texas Democrats Enter 2024 Cycle with Larger Slate of Candidates, Poised to Contest More Republican Seats Across State

AUSTIN, Texas – Yesterday, the candidate filing period for the 2024 Primary Election closed, and the Texas Democratic Party is proud to be represented on the ballot next year by a broad and diverse group of qualified candidates running for office up and down the ballot in all corners of our state. Running for hundreds of offices from U.S. Senator to Texas Supreme Court to precinct chair – countless Democrats have stepped up to create real change in their communities, and we’re ready to mobilize our diverse base of voters ahead of the March 5th Primary Election. 

The Texas Democratic Party’s flagship initiative to recruit candidates–Lone Star Rising–has drastically increased the number of Democrats running for office and will allow the Party to contest more Republican seats in 2024:

Statewide: 

Democrats are contesting every statewide office up for election with 12 candidates combined for both US Senate and Railroad Commissioner.

Texas Supreme Court:

Democrats are contesting every Supreme Court position up for election with four candidates.

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:

Democrats are contesting every Court of Criminal Appeals position up for election with three candidates.

State Board of Education:

Democrats are contesting every State Board of Education seat up for election with seven candidates.

Texas Senate: 

Democrats are contesting every Texas Senate seat up for election with 22 candidates.

Texas House: 

Democrats are contesting 84% of the seats in the Texas House with 162 candidates.

*Note: These numbers are preliminary. To accommodate a large influx of applications submitted on the day of the deadline, State Parties have up to 5 days to update the Secretary of State on candidates that filed by the deadline.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement on the official slate of Texas Democratic candidates running in the 2024 Primary: 

“It’s clear that the work Texas Democrats have done to recruit candidates across the state has paid off, and we are poised to hit the ground running ahead of the 2024 election cycle. Unlike MAGA Texas Republicans – Democrats represent a diverse coalition of Texas residents and communities. And by working to identify and encourage a wide variety of candidates of every race, faith, background and life experience – we can activate our Party’s broad base next November. From El Paso to Victoria – we know that our dedicated Texas Democratic candidates and officeholders will do the necessary work to achieve success far past the March primaries. We look forward to working with our candidates so we can keep Joe Biden in the White House, send Ted Cruz packing, and elect Texas Democrats up and down the ballot to make life better for the people of our state.”

Texas Democratic Party Political Director Ryan Garcia issued the following statement:

“We are incredibly proud of the partnerships we leveraged with Democrats across Texas–from precinct and county chairs that make up the very grassroots of our party to allied organizations like Blue Horizon Texas, who we partnered with on recruiting candidates and fundraising to cover filing fees–to drastically increase the number of Democrats running for office and the number of Republican seats we’re contesting.  The party set a goal early this year to raise the bar for Texas Democratic ballot strength in 2024, holding recruitment events, organizing roundtables, and executing outreach programs to identify prospective candidates. Now that the filing period is closed – it’s clear that our coalition’s work has paid off. Texas Democrats extend a special thank you to our allies including: Annie’s List, Fair Shot Texas, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes PAC, Contest Every Race, Run for Something, Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, Michelle Davis with Lone Star Left, and legions of county party leaders, SDEC members, Democratic caucuses and grassroots activists.

“Thanks again to all who worked overtime to ensure we have candidates to hold Republicans accountable at every level of government for their terrible policies. In a state as large as Texas, it’s imperative that we have a state Democratic party that can organize strong coalitions to achieve our shared goals, and we’re proud that we have sent a strong statement walking into 2024 that Democrats will not allow Republicans to maintain power in our state by forfeit—we’re going to make them fight for every inch.”

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